Applicant from PhD program after 5 Nov, 2011 connect here to get status

[kuzey]

Please Advise I am the next one to be served by the officer. This is the last version of the letter that I sent to them. I am afraid that I am missing duties. Am I right?

This reference letter is an update for Mr. XXX application for Permanent Resident status of Canada. XXX is a full-time PhD student (student ID XXXX) who is working as a research assistant under my supervision in the Department of XXX at the XXX. XXX joined us in September 2009 as a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) student and has been working with me continuously since then.

XXX's work in the area of XXX is focusing on making XXX applications. As my Research Assistant, he assisted me in research activities in the XXX area and his main duties are:

- Compiling and analyzing research activities related to XXX
- Preparing technical reports in the subject matter
- Designing and making laboratory experimental set ups. He designed and made an XXX apparatus for making nanofibers in the time between September 2010 and September 2012. He also recently designed a XXX for XXX test stand and it has been scheduled to run by June 2013.
- Preparing scholarly publications and writing scientific journals.
- Assisting me to review and analyze scientific works which have been published in peer reviewed journals
- Assisting me as a Teaching assistant in undergraduate course which is entitled XXX in Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 semesters.
During his work as my research assistant, XXX published the following publication:
--------------
He also had the following talk:
-----------

Moreover, the rest of his work has been well documented and will be published in a high-ranked peer-reviewed journal related to XXX.
XXX is working full time (40 hours per week) as a doctoral research assistant and he has received a salary of $25,000 per year for his work as research assistant and teaching assistant. XXX will continue to receive the research assistantship stipend until he finishes his Ph.D. program.
XXX is very talented academically and because of this he has been making significant contributions to my research group and thus to the Canadian XXX Community.
Should you have any questions, or require further information regarding XXX's work, character or language skills, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

 

[yunshi]

Where did you get these info? Can you post the link here?

Sorry that I just saw this on SFU International website, and I am not allowed to post links, so please search something like the following:


Tip: Post-Secondary Teaching and Research Assistants positions fall under NOC Category 4012, Skill Level A (see matrix). Work experience must be considered employment income, as indicated on your T4 tax slip. Any RA hours considered "scholarship income" and indicated on a T4A tax slip may not qualify. You are advised to check with CIC on what documentation to submit. For more information on CIC's definition of "full-time work", refer to the Overseas Processing Manual 6c, section 6.3 (pdf).

 

[S_Govind]

Kuzey,

If I were the officer evaluating your application, I would accept your RA but NOT your TA duties, since you haven't listed any/substantial of them (e.g: running laboratory and tutorial sessions, assisting in the preparation and in the grading of examinations ). Do you have sufficient hours with just RA?

 

[The_Prince]

Hello All,

I am a total newbie here! I applied for PR this February under PhD stream and received my PER 2 weeks later, on March 4. I tried to make my tuition domestic, but it seems like they don't accept "new" PER letters in the University of Waterloo. Has anyone changed their tuition to domestic recently in Ontario?
(My OHIP application has been reviewed and accepted)

This is a great forum, thanks for all your help.

Sorry to know that. I got the PER letter (new wording) by mid February and they accepted it in my University (in Ontario) for the summer semester. What do u mean by "it seems like they don't accept ...", did they tell you that clearly regarding the new wording ? One thing that might support you request would be to use the letter u got from the OHIP eligibility review committee stating that you are eligible for applying for immigration as confirmed by CIC, or u can even use the OHIP card itself.

 

[kuzey]

I am assuming that if they just accept my RA it would be enough for me. Do I need to prove that I performed both of them at the same time. I claimed full time RA (40 hours a week).

Kuzey,

If I were the officer evaluating your application, I would accept your RA but NOT your TA duties, since you haven't listed any/substantial of them (e.g: running laboratory and tutorial sessions, assisting in the preparation and in the grading of examinations ). Do you have sufficient hours with just RA?

 

[S_Govind]

I am assuming that if they just accept my RA it would be enough for me. Do I need to prove that I performed both of them at the same time. I claimed full time RA (40 hours a week).

I do not think so. If you refer to a previous case (BeH) I guess, his/her TA experience was accepted when the file was initially analyzed by an officer and the RA part wasn't awarded points. The applicant however, sent in an updated letter that I assume matched the lead statement as well as a substantial number of the main duties.

In case you are still unsure, you can analyze your letter against the following requirements

a. One year of continuous full time work experience

b. Performed actions described in the lead statement

c. Performed a substantial number of duties as outlined by the NOC code.

You seem to pass a , b and C as far your RA is concerned. My bet is you should be just fine

 

[Parkinson]

Sorry that I just saw this on SFU International website, and I am not allowed to post links, so please search something like the following:


Tip: Post-Secondary Teaching and Research Assistants positions fall under NOC Category 4012, Skill Level A (see matrix). Work experience must be considered employment income, as indicated on your T4 tax slip. Any RA hours considered "scholarship income" and indicated on a T4A tax slip may not qualify. You are advised to check with CIC on what documentation to submit. For more information on CIC's definition of "full-time work", refer to the Overseas Processing Manual 6c, section 6.3 (pdf).

I've found the link:
http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/blog/tips/PhDsImmigrationUpdate.html

 

[Payam8]

Sorry to know that. I got the PER letter (new wording) by mid February and they accepted it in my University (in Ontario) for the summer semester. What do u mean by "it seems like they don't accept ...", did they tell you that clearly regarding the new wording ? One thing that might support you request would be to use the letter u got from the OHIP eligibility review committee stating that you are eligible for applying for immigration as confirmed by CIC, or u can even use the OHIP card itself.

Thanks for your reply!
Well, I have given my PER letter to grad studies office since mid April and when I followed up I received this email : "We are currently reviewing the "new" letters that have been issued to students applying for their Permanent Residency in Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker. You will be notified when we have reached a decision."
In the meantime one of my colleagues went there; he was told that they have reached decision -->their decision is that we are not eligible for domestic tuition. PR applicants with previous PER letter got their tuition reduced in UW though.
Does anybody know if there is a similar place as "OHIP eligibility review committee" for tuition thing that I can appeal to? Because this is a provincial law and should be the same for all Ontario universities.
I haven't received the OHIP eligibility letter yet, but they called me and said that I should receive it in a week. I will try to use this OHIP eligibility letter to convince them.

 

[aidina]

Thanks aidina. How can I make sure it is attached ?

Send them an e-mail and ask wether the additional letter sent was attached to your file or not.

 

[aidina]

Sorry that I just saw this on SFU International website, and I am not allowed to post links, so please search something like the following:


Tip: Post-Secondary Teaching and Research Assistants positions fall under NOC Category 4012, Skill Level A (see matrix). Work experience must be considered employment income, as indicated on your T4 tax slip. Any RA hours considered "scholarship income" and indicated on a T4A tax slip may not qualify. You are advised to check with CIC on what documentation to submit. For more information on CIC's definition of "full-time work", refer to the Overseas Processing Manual 6c, section 6.3 (pdf).

RA is considered for sure. There are lots of people including myself who passed the eligibility step with only RA experience. I submitted both T4 and T4A. Your job experience must be paid to qualify, however, nowhere they ask for a taxable income.

 

[thundervikes]

I am going to send email attachments to CIC. I heard that CIC requires the attachments be smaller than 5MB.

I have two files to send. My question is: Can I send two PDF files (4MB, and 3MB), totally 7MB?

I appreciate any suggestion from senior guys.

 

[kuzey]

Aidina and other senior members please help me.

I am a May Applicant. I updated my work experience letter one in January to get more points which was missing the lead statement. I decided to update again on May 15 with the following letter:

This reference letter is an update for Mr. XXX application for Permanent Resident status of Canada. XXX is a full-time PhD student (student ID XXXX) who is working as a research assistant under my supervision in the Department of XXX at the XXX. XXX joined us in September 2009 as a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) student and has been working with me continuously since then.

XXX's work in the area of XXX is focusing on making XXX applications. As my Research Assistant, he assisted me in research activities in the XXX area and his main duties are:

- Compiling and analyzing research activities related to XXX
- Preparing technical reports in the subject matter
- Designing and making laboratory experimental set ups. He designed and made an XXX apparatus for making nanofibers in the time between September 2010 and September 2012. He also recently designed a XXX for XXX test stand and it has been scheduled to run by June 2013.
- Preparing scholarly publications and writing scientific journals.
- Assisting me to review and analyze scientific works which have been published in peer reviewed journals
- Assisting me as a Teaching assistant in undergraduate course which is entitled XXX in Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 semesters.
During his work as my research assistant, XXX published the following publication:
--------------
He also had the following talk:
-----------

Moreover, the rest of his work has been well documented and will be published in a high-ranked peer-reviewed journal related to XXX.
XXX is working full time (40 hours per week) as a doctoral research assistant and he has received a salary of $25,000 per year for his work as research assistant and teaching assistant. XXX will continue to receive the research assistantship stipend until he finishes his Ph.D. program.
XXX is very talented academically and because of this he has been making significant contributions to my research group and thus to the Canadian XXX Community.
Should you have any questions, or require further information regarding XXX's work, character or language skills, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

Still I am afraid that I do not have the duties word by word (copy paste) according to the NOC code. My supervisor is on a conference. I asked him to send me another letter, almost the same and I just changed the duties with the exact wording of NOC. I am really hesitated to send this letter as it would be the 3th updated latter. I would really appreciate it if you could comment on my letter?

Do I need to send another letter for my RA?

RA is considered for sure. Do not initiate a new panic in the forum please. There are lots of people including myself who passed the eligibility step with only RA experience. I submitted both T4 and T4A. Your job experience must be paid to qualify, however, nowhere they ask for a taxable income.

 

[The_Prince]

Thanks for your reply!
Well, I have given my PER letter to grad studies office since mid April and when I followed up I received this email : "We are currently reviewing the "new" letters that have been issued to students applying for their Permanent Residency in Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker. You will be notified when we have reached a decision."
In the meantime one of my colleagues went there; he was told that they have reached decision -->their decision is that we are not eligible for domestic tuition. PR applicants with previous PER letter got their tuition reduced in UW though.
Does anybody know if there is a similar place as "OHIP eligibility review committee" for tuition thing that I can appeal to? Because this is a provincial law and should be the same for all Ontario universities.
I haven't received the OHIP eligibility letter yet, but they called me and said that I should receive it in a week. I will try to use this OHIP eligibility letter to convince them.

Keep trying. I believe the OHIP letter should give you a good boost

 

[Dec_Applicant]

Aidina and other senior members please help me.

I am a May Applicant. I updated my work experience letter one in January to get more points which was missing the lead statement. I decided to update again on May 15 with the following letter:

This reference letter is an update for Mr. XXX application for Permanent Resident status of Canada. XXX is a full-time PhD student (student ID XXXX) who is working as a research assistant under my supervision in the Department of XXX at the XXX. XXX joined us in September 2009 as a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) student and has been working with me continuously since then.

XXX's work in the area of XXX is focusing on making XXX applications. As my Research Assistant, he assisted me in research activities in the XXX area and his main duties are:

- Compiling and analyzing research activities related to XXX
- Preparing technical reports in the subject matter
- Designing and making laboratory experimental set ups. He designed and made an XXX apparatus for making nanofibers in the time between September 2010 and September 2012. He also recently designed a XXX for XXX test stand and it has been scheduled to run by June 2013.
- Preparing scholarly publications and writing scientific journals.
- Assisting me to review and analyze scientific works which have been published in peer reviewed journals
- Assisting me as a Teaching assistant in undergraduate course which is entitled XXX in Fall 2009 and Winter 2010 semesters.
During his work as my research assistant, XXX published the following publication:
--------------
He also had the following talk:
-----------

Moreover, the rest of his work has been well documented and will be published in a high-ranked peer-reviewed journal related to XXX.
XXX is working full time (40 hours per week) as a doctoral research assistant and he has received a salary of $25,000 per year for his work as research assistant and teaching assistant. XXX will continue to receive the research assistantship stipend until he finishes his Ph.D. program.
XXX is very talented academically and because of this he has been making significant contributions to my research group and thus to the Canadian XXX Community.
Should you have any questions, or require further information regarding XXX's work, character or language skills, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

Still I am afraid that I do not have the duties word by word (copy paste) according to the NOC code. My supervisor is on a conference. I asked him to send me another letter, almost the same and I just changed the duties with the exact wording of NOC. I am really hesitated to send this letter as it would be the 3th updated latter. I would really appreciate it if you could comment on my letter?

Do I need to send another letter for my RA?

From the spreadsheet, Almost all rejected applicants due to TA/RA didn't get a document request. I think doc request is a positive sign you wont get rejected of TA/RA issues although not guaranteed. Those who go through medical and PPR, could you please share us your reference letter statements.

Best,

 

[The_Prince]

I've found the link:
http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/blog/tips/PhDsImmigrationUpdate.html

I guess this is for applicants after May 04